Planned Parenthood wins a round in court

By Peggy Fikac :
November 8, 2012
: Updated: November 9, 2012 12:50am

AUSTIN — Planned Parenthood won a temporary injunction Thursday that, for now, allows tens of thousands of women to continue receiving contraceptives and health screenings from the organization's clinics.

The injunction is meant to protect the status quo while Planned Parenthood pursues its lawsuit against a state ban on participation by affiliates of abortion providers, though the clinics in the program don't themselves provide abortions.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office said it will immediately appeal the decision, which Abbott spokeswoman Lauren Bean said “incorrectly halts implementation of state law.”

State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky's action came in the latest of a series of court face-offs between Planned Parenthood and the state over the issue, as the group sought to put a face on what its ouster from the Women's Health Program would mean to low-income patients.

Gonzales said his group already has closed four of eight clinics because of previous state family planning cuts, and it could be forced to close two or three more if it loses funding through the Women's Health Program, which provides contraceptives and health screenings to low-income clients.

Gonzales said that would have a “very devastating effect on the patients. ... They would not have a place to go to.”

State officials have said they are attracting hundreds of additional providers to serve women in the program, but some question if they have enough capacity to see all those currently served in Planned Parenthood's network.

Joseph Potter, a University of Texas at Austin sociology professor studying the effect of legislative action on family planning services, said cutting the funds to Planned Parenthood would have “drastic” and “devastating” consequences.

In the state court case, Planned Parenthood is arguing that its ouster is forbidden under a section of state law that says provisions affecting the program are inoperable if they conflict with federal law and cause the state to lose federal funds.

The federal government has said it will stop Medicaid funding for the program by year's end because of the ban on Planned Parenthood, which it says isn't allowed under federal rules.

Texas officials have said they will begin running the program with state funds only in order to bar Planned Parenthood, which they say is in accord with legislative intent. The federal government has paid for 90 percent of the program.

The lawsuit in state district court is directed only at the program while it receives federal funds, according to Planned Parenthood, not the state-funded program.

Planned Parenthood previously had received a temporary restraining order in state court to allow its participation, which is extended by the injunction granted Thursday.

Planned Parenthood also had challenged the ban in a federal court lawsuit, winning an injunction, but then losing it on appeal. Earlier this week, the group moved to dismiss its federal lawsuit without prejudice, essentially seeking to put it on hold while the state case proceeds.

Gov. Rick Perry, who has championed the Planned Parenthood ban, seized on that action to contend Planned Parenthood believes its constitutional challenge in federal court is “flawed on its face.”

“Venue shopping and courtroom sleight-of-hand in no way helps the women of Texas. We see their stalling tactic for what it is — yet another attempt to unashamedly defy the will of Texas voters and taxpayers,” Perry said in a statement.

Pete Schenkkan, an attorney representing Planned Parenthood, said with its motion in the federal case: “As a procedural matter, we are doing what the law requires us to do in order to preserve our federal constitutional claims in case the state case doesn't resolve all of our claims.”

The state also is suing in federal court to try to hold on to federal funding for the program while excluding Planned Parenthood.